Start dethawing at these cozy bars in (arguably) Seattle's most characteristic district.

It's tempting to burrow down for the remaining weeks of winter, but sustenance—and seriously good cocktails at happy hour's alluring prices—should tempt you out. And where better to fall back in love with this gray city than Pioneer Square, our own brick-bedecked time capsule of old Seattle?

Two JarrBar veterans opened Bad Bishop last October, with quality takes on all-American bar food (corn dogs, burgers, tuna melts) and a short but satisfying cocktail list. Here, it's not a happy hour but a happy week, as Shift Drinks ($6 wells and house wines, plus a shot and a Rainier tallboy for $7) are available whenever the doors are open. The ambiance lands on the golden side of divey with exposed brick, imported floral wallpaper, and background tunes on vinyl.

Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows Seattle's true name. Outstandingly good food holds down the fort of this dimly lit favorite, lodged in a classic Pioneer Square brick shoebox. Happy hour lops $1 off beer and $2 off aperitifs, vermouth, and cider, and brings the house natural wines to $9. Linger past five o'clock to tuck into supper specials ranging from green chorizo crepinette to braised lamb belly.

In the former Radici space, D&E makes no mystery of its offerings: drinks and eats. From brunch to dinner, the clean-cut restaurant serves rich fare (sourdough pancakes, root vegetable shawarma, pasta) alongside classic cocktails, rendered new—a Manhattan here is an Irish Manhattan, with Jameson and a drop of Chartreuse. During happy hour, you can get a glass or a cocktail for $6, or a can of Rainier for $2. While it's not on the happy hour menu, a fried chicken sandwich and a can of Rainier is yours for $10 "all-day, any-day."

Not a work deadline; you left that at the gilded door. Rather, Dead Line refers to Yesler Way—the historic divide between North and South Seattle. This dark, sleek speakeasy looks to bridge the divide. Happy hour means $8 cocktails and $4–$6 beer and wine. Salty snacks like olives and spiced nuts come with your drink. Plump for top-shelf liquor (literally) to send the bartender up the sliding library ladder to reach the finer bottles.

Throw-back elegance on a grand scale, plates on a small scale, and craft cocktails with colorfully brusque names. If the marble bar and bank vault doors don't clue you in, Good Bar is a stronghold of Pioneer Square history and culture in a building that has stood its ground since 1900. During happy hour, get house wine and simple cocktails on the cheap, or try the combo of a Rainier and an Underberg for $6. Nibbles include boiled peanuts and fingerlings, but they escalate to a truly sloppy joe.